Another chapter, I'm actually Quite surprised this one just seemed to come together much faster than expected. As before please review any feedback is welcome.
"Were you actually going to kill Guiche, Garrett?" Louise said with a serious expression.
"Course not." I said taking a sip of tea that Siesta was kind enough to bring by and grimacing slightly at the pain of my sore muscles which as of right now felt as if they were subjects of excitable children's attacks on a piñata.
"You honestly could have fooled me." She said sitting in the chair across from me.
"Let's just say I can act with best of them." I shrugged repressing another grimace.
We were currently back in Louise's room, after the fight I decided it would be best to retire to the room and rest as my body seemed to be just holding together after the fight. I appeared to be followed closely by both Louise and Siesta who at the time seemed to be regarding me with the same level of awe and wonder with a twinge of fear at my apparent mercilessness.
I honestly couldn't help but think that was one of the better results I could hope for. With this I no doubt gave them something to fear thinking back to the field where some of the students scampering away from me and others watching me intently such as the blue haired girl and the red haired Zerbst women. With the Latter's case she seemed to be sizing me up for something else which made me quirk an eyebrow in response. All in all though it looked like I wouldn't be bothered by the students here anytime soon.
"So... you say you're from another world." Louise began looking at me curiously.
"Yep."
"Is that where Ottawa is?" Siesta asked putting down the tea pot and looking at me with great interest.
"Yeah lived there for most of my life with my entire family being spread out around the city and the surrounding towns." I said a clawing sense of homesickness creeping in.
"So Fami... Garrett." Louise began looking at me and trying to choose the right words. "What do you plan on doing now?" She asked looking obviously quite nervous maybe a little sick, like she just ate some off food.
"There is no way to send me back is there?" I asked looking and feeling forlorn.
"No I'm sorry but The ritual is a one way spell." Louise said still nervous.
I sighed. Somehow I knew that was the case but the revelation cut deep nonetheless.
"As I said before I have nowhere to go so I will here for awhile...if that's all right?" I asked.
"But." I began drawing the attention of both Louise and Siesta. "I have some ground rules I would like to lay down."
Louise seemed to stiffen at me laying down the law and nodded as I proceeded.
"First, I wish to be regarded as human meaning no more familiar or dog or treating me as a thing in general. Both of us will treat this as an equal partnership understood?" I said In a way that a parent would speak to a child.
She nodded.
"Second I want you to try and figure out some possible way for me to get home, ask teachers research anything you can think of there has to be one way for me to return."
"And actually that is all I really want. Though If possible I would like to acquire a mattress or at least a couple of thick blankets for me to sleep." I asked.
"I...I'll see what I can do." Louise said.
"We actually have a spare mattress down in the servants quarters that I think they would be happy to give you." Siesta said with a smile on her face.
"That would be fantastic thank you." I said smiling at the maid her response being to blush red like a tomato.
"That all being said though if this is going to be a partnership what do you want from this deal Louise?" I asked, since she was kind enough to listen to me might as well return the favor.
Around this time I thought of where all my sarcastic disdain went. With the amount I was pushing you could have made a fairly descent lesson plan out of it.
"Well..." She began a lot of this was probably new to her, she being a noble she may have been more or less used to getting her way no questions asked.
"You could act like a familiar for the most part follow me look impressive to help keep up appearances." She said looking nervous as to my possible reaction
"Very well, I think I know why. Human summoning aren't common are they, that's why they were laughing and that Dark skinned chick were ridiculing you right?"
She nodded. "I get it. I think I can manage that easily enough. Anything else?" I asked.
"No that will do."
"Well I think we have reached an agreement then I will be your *cough*familiar, in return I am treated with respect as a human being and not as a glorified pet." I said with a small smile.
"Good then shall we shake on it then?" I said my hand outstretched.
She hesitated and then took her small hand into mine sealing the deal.
"Now if it's all right Siesta shall we go down and grab the mattress, I would rather do it sooner rather than later if it's all right." I said turning to her.
"Oh yes follow me." She said excitably grabbing my hand and yanking me out the door leaving Louise alone in her room.
Scene Break
'It could have been much worse.' Thought Louise sitting in her room alone with her thoughts.
Her Familiar Garrett was still as much an independent entity as he was before but now seemed more open and less vocally hostile towards her.
His offer to compromise when he knew for the fact that he could not leave was totally unexpected as he seemed just as likely to leave and forge out on his own more than anything. Louise was relieved though that was not the case as her Familiar seemed open to a partnership with the term he set down, To be treated with respect fitting a human. While with her being a noble these demands would be outrageous as a commoner should be honored to serve a noble she knew very well what would happen if she threw his offer back in his face.
She had wanted a powerful and noble familiar and she got one as his pride and the way he held himself in no way lent to subservience.
It was with this thought that Louise got up and left for dinner with a feeling mixed between relief and curiosity as she thought how the near future with Garrett was going to play out.
Scene Break
'That girl is remarkably sturdy for someone of her size.' I thought.
We were able to procure the mattress without any problem's and while I could easily have brought the thing up by myself Siesta insisted on helping as she grabbed the other end and helped take it back to the room which cut the time it would have taken by a large sum for which my sore muscles were quite thankful.
I was currently laying on my new bed thinking about the day Louise wasn't around, must have went to dinner.
Dragon ate my lunch, got into a fight with a blond git and hammered out an agreement with Louise certainly a full day. I ran my hands through my face and hair noticing something missing, my glasses.
"Shit, must have lost them in the fight." I said to no one.
While my eyes aren't overly terrible the combination of them being some rather expensive frames and the fact I can't read or make out the fine details in things prompted me to get up much to my bodies protests and run out the door.
These next minutes were probably going to be one of my strangest yet but somehow I got the feeling with that it was going to most likely get even stranger from here.
Just outside the door was a big red lizard staring at me I paused and we seemed to regard each other for a full five seconds.
"Umm... Hello there." I said nervously knowing full well that thing could probably be fancying me being a nice snack.
Then it pounced on me my rather tired arms and leg going 'fuck this' and giving way under the weight. The lizard then proceeded to sniff me and then its eyes glinting in recognition proceeded to drag me off by my collar.
This was a little embarrassing and at the same time a little worrisome as I was being carried like a new toy for an eager dog and was quite worried that I might be dinner. This is definitely not how I wanted to spend my day.
"You know for what it's worth I taste horrible, like old bacon left in the sun." I said trying to ruin my scaly friends appetite as it continued to drag me down the hall.
It seemed to ignore me as we apparently reached our destination a door not too far from Louise's room actually, just down the hall.
The door swung open and I was deposited inside.
The room was dark nothing but the early moonlight peaking in through the window illuminating the dark corners of the room.
Then I felt a rush of energy that made my spine prickle as multiple candles lit up revealing my kidnapper. It was the dark haired women I've seen Zerbst I think but it wasn't just her that surprised me it was what she was wearing.
Lingerie was the only word to describe it as it was some rather ... revealing nightgown that seemed to cause her more noticeable features to stand out more specifically the two monsters on her chest.
"Hello Garrett, I've been waiting for you." She said huskily.
"Have you now?" I said eyeing her and by extension the lizard by her side.
"I saw your battle with Guiche, the way you moved when you drew the sword and the strength and pride you portrayed as you defeated him was magnificent." She said a blush forming on her face though it was hard to tell with just the candlelight.
'Was I really that good of an actor, well I guess those four years of acting classes at high school weren't a waste.' I thought briefly.
"Though it seems you may have lost something though." She said pulling out my glasses from between her cleavage.
"Oh you found them." I said instinctively reaching to grab them as she pulled them away from my reach at the last moment.
"You don't see many commoners with spectacles, they are generally to expensive are you by any chance a noble?" She asked looking at me with interest as I was no doubt an enigma to her and the rest of her class.
"No, my father was a officer and my mother was a chef." I said this causing her to quirk an eyebrow as she was no doubt mentally filing away this information on me.
"It matters not." She shrugged. "You have caught my attention Garrett. I Kirche the Ardent long for you." She said grabbing me and pushing me onto the bed my limbs feeling like noodles not putting up a successful fight.
What is it with this world I swear I must be part of some bad Fan fiction. In that case god the, sad nerd that you are how about you throw me a bone here.
The door proceeded to burst open distracting Kirche as a certain pink haired figure walked through the doorframe.
Oh thank heavens for small miracles or in this case itty bitty ones.
"Zerbst. What are you doing with my familiar?!" She yelled pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Oh it's only you Louise. Do you mind we are in the middle of something why don't you run along." moving her hand in a shooing motion.
It was at this time I began ever so subtly slipping away while she was distracted inch by painful inch.
"He is my familiar you hold no right!" Louise said.
Ever so slowly and carefully.
"But he is also a young man does he not have the right to be with whom he pleases?" She shot back.
Silently grabbing my spectacles, like a ninja.
"That is not the problem. The problem is you Von Zerbst, I as a Valliere cannot allow him to fall for you."
'Oh there is some history there.' I thought now free from her grasp I silently crept away both of the girls not noticing, being to embroiled in their argument to notice.
"You cannot hold back our love Louise." She responded
Out the door.
"I will if it comes to it."Louise said.
Down the Hall.
"I would like to... wait where did he go?" Kirche asked confused.
And finally make a break for it.
I dashed down the hall and immediately dove into the nearest door.
Closing the door behind me quickly and quietly I held my breath as I heard both of them come down the halls looking for me. As of now I'm in no hurry to interact with the two of them. Kirche most likely trying to have her way with me and Louise no doubt going to chew me out due to the apparent hatred between their families.
When the voices died down I let out a deep sigh as I turned around and saw the blue haired girl from today in her nightclothes, in bed and with a book in hand observing me carefully.
"Oh...Hello...Sorry." I said.
She continued to stare. I swear it almost felt like I was going to spontaneously combust.
"Is Kirche always like that?" I asked trying to lighten the serious tone the girl seemed to set.
"Yes." She said without any emotion.
"Would it be okay if I hid here for a couple of minutes?" I asked still cautious about leaving with the two still looking for me.
She nodded and returned attention to her book.
"Thank you."
"For feeding Sylphid." She responded again no emotion and paying no attention to me.
A few minutes past by until I felt safe to leave.
"I'll be going now... I'm sorry I don't know your name." I said somewhat embarrassed.
"Tabitha." She said simply.
"Well have a nice night Tabitha." I said inclining my head and leaving the room to retire for the night knowing full well I'll be hearing something about this tomorrow.